Dec. 20, 2025 — Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (NASDAQ: DJT) is back in the spotlight after announcing a surprise all-stock merger with nuclear fusion company TAE Technologies—a deal the companies describe as valued at more than $6 billion and aimed at accelerating the buildout of a utility-scale fusion power plant. [1]
The announcement sparked a sharp rally in DJT stock, which surged more than 40% on Dec. 18 and remained highly active as traders repositioned around what many see as a dramatic pivot: from a money-losing social media business to a long-dated, high-uncertainty bet on the future of energy for AI-era data centers. [2]
DJT stock price: where shares are trading now
As of the latest available trading update (reflecting Friday’s activity), DJT traded around the mid-$16 range, after jumping from the prior close near $14.86, and swung widely intraday—roughly $14.88 to $17.09—highlighting how headline-driven the move has become. [3]
That volatility has become the story, not the footnote. Options markets are pricing in unusually large near-term moves, with 30-day options-implied volatility rising to about 108% by Dec. 19, up sharply from earlier in the week. [4]
What Trump Media announced: the TAE Technologies fusion merger explained
Trump Media (the parent company of Truth Social) and TAE Technologies said they signed a definitive merger agreement to combine in an all-stock transaction. On close, shareholders of each company are expected to own about 50% of the combined entity on a fully diluted basis. [5]
Key deal points being cited by the companies include:
- Expected close: mid-2026, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals. [6]
- Cash component: Trump Media agreed to provide up to $200 million at signing plus another $100 million tied to the initial filing of the Form S‑4, according to company statements and the merger materials. [7]
- What the combined company would own: Trump Media said it would become a holding company for Truth Social, Truth+, Truth.Fi, and TAE’s fusion business plus subsidiaries including TAE Power Solutions and TAE Life Sciences, among others. [8]
- Leadership: Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes and TAE CEO Michl Binderbauer are slated to serve as co-CEOs. [9]
In other words: DJT stock is no longer being “priced” purely as a social media company. It’s being repriced—at least for now—as a fusion-energy optionality vehicle.
Why fusion? The AI power-demand narrative behind the deal
The companies are explicitly tying the transaction to the accelerating electricity needs of the AI economy. In merger materials, they argue the combined company will be capitalized to fund a first utility-scale plant while continuing to grow the media and technology assets. [10]
Reuters also framed the deal as a bet on the power boom driven by AI data centers, noting that interest in nuclear-related power has been revived by the scale of projected demand. [11]
This is a clean narrative—maybe too clean. Fusion has always been the dream solution for energy scarcity: abundant fuel, no carbon emissions at the point of generation, and far fewer long-lived waste issues than traditional fission plants. The problem is that fusion is brutally hard to commercialize.
TAE Technologies: what it says it has—and what it still hasn’t proved
According to the merger announcement, TAE is a long-running fusion startup (founded in 1998) that says it has:
- Built and operated multiple generations of research reactors
- Raised more than $1.3 billion from investors that the company lists including Google, Chevron, Goldman Sachs, and others [12]
- A large technical staff and substantial IP (patents), per company materials [13]
But the core technical and economic milestones that matter for a commercial fusion business remain steep. As The Verge explains, the industry’s long-running hurdle is achieving net energy gain (getting more energy out than you put in), and it notes that—outside of the U.S. National Ignition Facility’s landmark 2022 “ignition” result—many approaches still haven’t demonstrated that net gain in a way that translates into power-plant economics. [14]
This matters to DJT stock because the market is currently trying to price a future that may arrive late, arrive expensive, or not arrive at all.
The company’s timeline forecast: construction in 2026, “first power” in 2031
The headline forecast coming from the merger materials is ambitious:
- The combined company expects to site and begin construction of a first utility-scale fusion power plant in 2026, described as 50 MWe (megawatts electric), subject to approvals. [15]
- A slide deck tied to the transaction targets “first power offtake” in 2031. [16]
- Future plants are described as potentially scaling to 350–500 MWe. [17]
These are “company forecast” timelines—important, market-moving, and also the kind of timelines that often slip in deep-tech infrastructure.
Why DJT stock moved so violently: retail momentum, options, and “meme-stock” mechanics
In modern markets, “why a stock moved” often has two layers:
- The catalyst (the merger news), and
- The plumbing (volume, options flow, positioning).
Trefis described the Dec. 18 move as a speculative event, reporting explosive volume and elevated call option activity around the announcement. [18]
Meanwhile, Fintel data shows options traders rapidly repriced the uncertainty: 30-day implied volatility surged into triple digits by Dec. 19. [19]
Reuters also emphasized DJT’s status as a retail-trader favorite and quoted one market participant likening the deal’s surface-level logic to a mashup—new growth story meets highly unproven execution path. [20]
Trump Media fundamentals: revenue remains tiny, losses remain large
The fusion announcement arrived against a backdrop of weak operating fundamentals on the core media business.
In its most recent quarter (Q3 2025), Reuters reported:
- Revenue of $972,900 (down year-over-year)
- Net loss of $54.8 million
- A surge in costs including $20.3 million in legal expenses [21]
Trump Media’s own Q3 release highlighted a large pool of financial assets (including digital assets) and described a strategy of expanding products and pursuing M&A, while acknowledging the quarter’s net loss and legal cost burden. [22]
This “two-company” reality is critical for anyone following DJT stock:
- Operating business: small revenue, ongoing losses, limited KPI disclosure (Reuters notes the company does not regularly disclose monthly/daily active users). [23]
- Balance-sheet and deal narrative: crypto holdings, capital raises, and now a fusion merger meant to create a new growth story.
Crypto and DJT stock: the balance sheet strategy that set the stage
Trump Media has been building a more complex capital-markets identity than “Truth Social = ad revenue.”
In May 2025, Reuters reported the company planned to raise about $2.5 billion to invest in bitcoin—$1.5 billion in stock sales and $1 billion in convertible notes, with custody to be provided by Anchorage Digital and Crypto.com. [24]
Later, Investopedia reported Trump Media’s bitcoin and related holdings had grown to about $2 billion, and said the company planned to continue buying bitcoin and crypto securities. [25]
Why that matters now: a company with substantial liquid assets (and a demonstrated willingness to do headline-grabbing capital moves) can plausibly fund a high-burn, long-duration project like fusion—at least for the early innings.
Analyst forecasts for DJT stock: why traditional Wall Street targets are scarce
If you’re looking for a clean “consensus price target” story, DJT is not that stock.
Zacks’ coverage reflects the broader pattern: limited or no published analyst price targets for DJT compared with more widely covered mid- and large-cap equities. [26]
So what passes for a “forecast” right now is less about a neat 12‑month target and more about probabilities and implied expectations, including:
- Merger-close timeline: mid‑2026 (company forecast; not guaranteed). [27]
- Project timeline: construction targeted in 2026; first power targeted 2031 (company forecast). [28]
- Volatility forecast: options-implied volatility over 100% implies the market expects large swings. [29]
In plain English: the market isn’t agreeing on “fair value.” It’s betting on how wild the ride will be.
The biggest risks investors are weighing
This merger gives DJT stock a narrative upgrade, but it also piles on risk. The major pressure points:
Fusion execution risk
Commercial fusion is not a software release. It’s physics + materials science + grid engineering + permitting + billions in capital. Even optimistic timelines can slip.
Deal risk and dilution
It’s an all-stock combination with a 50/50 ownership outcome, plus up to $300 million in cash commitments tied to the transaction process. [30]
Governance and political scrutiny
Reuters reported a Democratic lawmaker raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest and called for oversight of the merger. [31]
Core business opacity
Reuters has noted Trump Media does not regularly disclose common social media KPIs such as monthly/daily active users, making it harder to benchmark Truth Social against peers. [32]
What to watch next for DJT stock
Near-term, DJT stock is likely to trade on process milestones and headline flow more than on traditional valuation metrics.
Key upcoming signposts include:
- Form S‑4 filing and SEC review tied to the merger process [33]
- Shareholder votes and regulatory approvals needed to close mid‑2026 [34]
- Siting details for the planned 2026 plant and any financing updates
- TAE technical milestones that would de-risk (or fail to de-risk) the 2031 “first power” target [35]
- Updates on Trump Media’s non-fusion initiatives, including its fintech and product roadmap described in its recent releases [36]
Bottom line
DJT stock’s late‑2025 surge is being driven by a single, enormous story: Trump Media is trying to become a publicly traded gateway to fusion power via TAE Technologies, with AI-era electricity demand as the macro rationale. [37]
Whether that story becomes a durable re-rating—or a temporary, volatility-fueled spike—will depend on the slow, unglamorous stuff: filings, approvals, engineering proof points, and capital discipline. In the meantime, options markets are already broadcasting their forecast in the only language they speak fluently: price swings are expected to stay large. [38]
References
1. www.globenewswire.com, 2. www.investopedia.com, 3. www.investing.com, 4. fintel.io, 5. www.globenewswire.com, 6. www.globenewswire.com, 7. www.globenewswire.com, 8. www.globenewswire.com, 9. www.globenewswire.com, 10. filemanager-cdn.mziq.com, 11. www.reuters.com, 12. www.globenewswire.com, 13. filemanager-cdn.mziq.com, 14. www.theverge.com, 15. www.globenewswire.com, 16. filemanager-cdn.mziq.com, 17. www.globenewswire.com, 18. www.trefis.com, 19. fintel.io, 20. www.reuters.com, 21. www.reuters.com, 22. www.pressviewer.com, 23. www.reuters.com, 24. www.reuters.com, 25. www.investopedia.com, 26. www.zacks.com, 27. www.globenewswire.com, 28. filemanager-cdn.mziq.com, 29. fintel.io, 30. www.globenewswire.com, 31. www.reuters.com, 32. www.reuters.com, 33. www.globenewswire.com, 34. www.globenewswire.com, 35. filemanager-cdn.mziq.com, 36. www.pressviewer.com, 37. www.globenewswire.com, 38. fintel.io
